Dark Heroes
by cindersnow21
Summary: This is the story of the pettiness, jealousy, darkness and anger of the five Legends.


**A/N: This is the product of a conversation about dark themes and pure boredom. Enjoy!**

**Some OOC-ness will occur. You have been warned.**

**I do not own any part of MapleStory.**

* * *

Aria leaned in, knife pressing against Mercedes' throat.

"You jealous? I got him before you," Mercedes smirked.

Aria blocked out the images of her boyfriend and Mercedes kissing. She'd seen how Phantom had had a twisted, disgusted expression on his face while Mercedes had a happy, sinful glow around her.

"I don't give half a damn crap about him. If he was stupid enough to fall for a fucking cow like you, I don't want him." There was very strongly masked hurt in her voice, so strong that only the people closest to her heart would ever be able to detect it. Like Phantom, who happened to be sitting completely concealed in a tree a few feet away, watching through his raven mask.

"Why the knife job then?" snickered Mercedes.

"Your treachery," Aria snapped. "I am not a lovesick girl, I am an EMPRESS, with duties."

"Doesn't mean you can't be a lovesick empress."

"Shut the hell up, Orchid-lackey."

Mercedes cursed inwardly. This was going to be fun to explain. Well, she'd put a rein on her snark. Fun as Aria was to tease, Mercedes couldn't risk her life. Empress Aria was kind and loving to her people, but she was vicious to the people who betrayed her. Even the matter of Phantom paled in comparison to this.

Phantom…Aria…together…Mercedes felt her anger boil again.

"Back at ya, Suu-lover," replied Mercedes.

Aria's eyes darkened considerably. "I would never associate with that asshole," she hissed, venom dripping from her voice. "GUARDS!" she yelled. The Arian Knights materialized. "Take the traitor away!" The Knights cuffed Mercedes and led her away. Aria stood there, shaking with rage. She gripped the knife, hard. Then she moved so fast, even Phantom couldn't follow her movements before the hilt of the knife hit him square in the face and he toppled out of the tree, completely caught off guard.

"Idiot Phantom," muttered Aria. She dragged him back into the Erevian Palace, dumped him into a guest bed and put food and water on a table next to the bed. "Sleep well, Phantom," murmured Aria gently as she walked out.

Phantom awoke to Aria's gentle humming as she read a book. "Morning, Phantom," greeted Aria.

"Good morning, your majesty," replied Phantom formally, blinking the sleep from his eyes. His hair was wild and messed up. Aria found it adorable. "What happened?"

"You were spying on Mercedes and me," said Aria simply. "I threw a knife at you and knocked you unconscious."

"Ouch. I apologize for spying, but I had to make sure you didn't kill each other."

"Mercedes' trial is today," said Aria quietly. "She's going to be innocent, I believe in her."

"Then why were you trying to kill her? You're contradicting yourself here."

"I hate the Black Mage with all my heart. I felt betrayed when I found out Mercedes was associated with one of them," said Aria sadly. "I should never have lost my temper like that. I cannot afford to have an enemy in the monarch of the Elves."

"Don't worry. Mercedes is an understanding person," comforted Phantom.

"I hope so," murmured Aria.

"Anyway, why was I kissed by Mercedes last night? It was disgusting," said Phantom.

"She got into a little tiff with Freud and you were the first man in sight. Figure it out," said Aria. "I got really mad over how she used you to get back at Freud and I wasn't thinking straight. It led to even more of a misunderstanding."

"It's all right. If, like, Luminous tried that with you or something I'd beat the hell out of him too."

"Let's go to Erevian Court. It's high treason. Empress needs to be present," said Aria.

"I'll come with you," said Phantom.

Mercedes successfully appealed, and then met with war advisors with the information she'd gleaned from Orchid. Mercedes had been meeting with Orchid, giving her false information about the Alliance, and got tons of information on the Black Mage. Spying is a complicated thing. Use your imagination to create the story.

Aria talked to Mercedes after the hearing. "I'm sorry I lost my temper last night, Mercedes. I hope that one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me."

"It's all right, Aria. I'm sorry I used your lover to get back at Freud. It was childish of me. I also apologize for not informing you of my plans with Orchid," said Mercedes.

"I forgive you. Now, go talk to Freud."

* * *

On the way to Freud's Dragon House, Mercedes silently fumed with anger. Why did Aria get everything? Beauty, true love, power, kindness, the world was Aria's oyster!

She sat down on a rock five miles away from the El Nath Mountains. Mercedes stared at the floor, pondering her life.

She heard a noise. She immediately used Ishtar's Ring on the noise, because these days you could never be too careful.

She found herself face-to-face with Afrien, Freud's dragon. Freud was sitting on Afrien, his legs dangling off the side.

Mercedes went back to staring at the ground while sitting on her rock.

The cold, cold ground.

The hard, hard rock.

And the burning gaze Freud gave her.

She did not notice any of that, and was lost in Dreamland once more.

"Sadie, Sadie! Sadie! Wake the hell up!"

She realized someone was shaking her, and said, "Stop it….dude….it hurts…."

"Oh, Sadie, you're all right! I thought you died of crack overdose!" cried Freud in relief.

"I'm fine. Go away." Mercedes waved him off.

"Sadie, why are you so cold to me?" asked Freud.

"You're not…mad?" asked Mercedes.

"Why would I be mad at you? I love you!" cried Freud.

Mercedes grabbed him in a hug. "I love you too, Freud."

"Come on, Sadie. Let's go get a drink."

Mercedes was happy with how everything turned out.

* * *

Back in the Palace, Aria was having a chat with Lotus.

It wasn't so much of chatting as hot sex, but don't mind the small details. They still talked. Just that Aria was moaning and Suu was murmuring sexy words in her ear. It was quite the sinful afternoon. Aria didn't even think once of Phantom during those hours. She liked Suu too much to care.

"You feelin' the heat, babe?" asked Suu as Aria moaned under his expert touch. Let's skip the sex scene and go straight to the part where Aria feels guilty after Suu leaves. "You're mine, Aria, and only mine," Suu calls over his shoulder.

_I shouldn't even be doing this with ANYONE. The fact that it's a minion of the Black Mage just makes it that much worse._ She liked both Suu and Phantom. In her circumstances, Phantom was clearly the one she should choose, but Suu was just as good a choice. Phantom was a mysterious thief. Suu was the trapped minion of the world's greatest evil. She loved both of them, now she had to choose?

Phantom came into her room. "Are you feeling okay, Aria? You look more distressed than usual."

"Nothing, nothing," she said.

He touched her face gently. "Aria, what is it?" he asked. Those eyes bored into her. She felt like her soul was being exposed.

Phantom clearly saw something in her eyes that got him mad. His dark blue eyes got so dark they almost turned violet. "We'll just have to change your mind now, won't we?" he asked menacingly.

Aria shivered under his gaze. A crimson blush rose to her cheeks.

He smirked. "My, aren't we a bit too experienced?" he asked threateningly. She wondered how much he knew. Probably everything. Phantom was a master of reading people.

Everything became a blur for Aria after that. She remembered bits of kissing, flying clothes, condoms, sweat, and pleasure. In those few hours, she realized something.

She could not choose.

"That's all right. Our dear Lotus will just have to share," said Phantom, smiling. That's when she realized who she would choose.

It was time to cut off all ties with Suu.

* * *

Aran and Luminous walked down the corridor to the Ereve Conference Room.

Luminous joked, "How many of them are probably fucking the shit out of each other right now?" he asked, laughing.

Aran replied with a smile. "Every single one. Lustful pigs, the lot of them."

"Did you see Mercedes' jealous rage over Freud?" asked Luminous, laughing.

"Yeah! It was so funny the way Aria reacted."

"We may all be extremely powerful adults, but they still act like jealous kids on the play-ground fighting over toys," observed Luminous, chuckling.

"Ah, Lumi. That is the beauty of life," remarked Aran. Her ponytail swished. She carried her long, heavy pole arm high. (Aran is a girl in canon, but I'm always going to think of him as a guy. Forgive me if I use "he" when referring to Aran in this story.)

Luminous' shining rod was twirled in the air. "Are you ever going to follow the example of those lecherous pigs, Ar?"

"Not a chance in hell, Lumi. Seriously. They have sex every other night. They think we can't tell? Those screams echo terribly in this palace," sighed Aran.

"I know. It's disgusting. I've been planning on moving out of the Palace, but we need to protect Aria. Who, by the way, is doing both Suu and Phantom."

"Suu?! That's treachery, especially since Suu is one of the Black Mage's minions!" cried Aran.

"Does it matter? I keep a close watch on them to make sure Aria doesn't spill anything important."

"Or you just want to see Aria naked," snickered Aran.

"Don't lump me in with those perverts, Aran," warned Luminous dangerously.

"Calm down. I was kidding. Sorry."

"Anyway. We have planning to do. Let's go to my quarters. I have many drafts I would like you to review," said Luminous briskly.

"Okay."

"So," said Luminous, looking over the tenth battle plan. "We could attack the Temple of Time here, here, and here," he pointed, "and that is where their base is located," –jab- "and that's where we are going to seal him."

"It's a pretty good plan. We'll work out the kinks at tomorrow's conference and attack!" Aran clapped her hands briskly. "That's settled now, I'll go back to my quarters and sleep."

"Good night, Aran."

"Night, Luminous!~" she called cheerfully.

_She's such a naïve girl. How will she survive?_ Luminous thought moodily. He really liked Aran, but he knew she wouldn't think of him that way. Ever.

There was no one he could turn to for love advice. Freud, seemingly kind and innocent on the outside, was a pervert of the highest degree. No one read more porn than he did. Phantom was too aloof and stupid. Mercedes and Aria were both girls who would squeal at his predicament and try to "help" him.

He had a hard time falling asleep that night.

* * *

"Dammit!" cried Aran the next morning. She'd dreamed that Luminous was slowly undress….yeah let's not talk about it. "Why am I in love with that drat bastard? He's so uptight and pure! I'm never going to have a chance with him! Stupid heart!"

Little did she know that Luminous was right outside her door. _Uptight? Pure? Is she talking about me?_ His heart did a little skip-beat right there. He whipped out a rose, got down on one knee, and knocked on her door.

Aran came out, still dressed in her pajamas and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Lumi? What are you—HOLY SHIT!"

Luminous ducked his head sadly. She clearly hadn't been talking about him. He nearly ran, but then Aran said, "Well, aren't you going to ask me?"

He looked up hopefully. Aran smiled at him and took the rose.

Luminous felt like bursting with happiness. Aran liked him back! It certainly was a cause for celebration on his part. He jumped up and hugged her hard. "Will you go out with me?" he asked, his face in her hair.

"Of course I will, Lumi," she said warmly.

They went down the corridor, Luminous chatting happily with Aran about trivial things. The battles could wait till later. They had each other right now, and Luminous and Aran were going to make the most of it while they still could.

"We're not going to be as lecherous as those couples, are we?" asked Aran worriedly. She was not abstinent, but she did not approve of daily sin.

"No, of course we will not have sex every day! Don't be ridiculous. I still have my dignity," declared Luminous.

"Good." Aran breathed a sigh of relief. Sex was great and all, but not every day! Not all the time! Not like those couples, who she was going to meet with a few minutes from now when she reached the conference room. It wasn't really as grand as it sounded, just a small hardwood table where the Empress's advisors and the Heroes met from time to time to discuss battle plans.

They made it to the meeting room. Phantom and Freud both had sex-hair, while Aria and Mercedes were sitting next to each other with a happy smile on their faces. Aran and Luminous both shuddered as they took their seats. _I don't even want to think about what they'd done last night…or how nice it would be to do it with…oh no don't even go down that road!_ Both Aran and Luminous' thoughts went down the same road.

"Oh, my gosh. I need to get my mind out of the gutter!" they both said aloud. Realizing what they'd said, they stared at each other in shock and horror, then identical blushes formed and shy smiles were exchanged. The other four were too lost in their own worlds to notice anything.

Elena, one of Aria's advisors, came to the table. She pounded the hardwood with her hammer. "EMPRESS! HEROES!" she barked, instantly getting their attention.

Everyone snapped out of their trance. "Yes, sir! What do you need, sir!" everyone chorused.

"Much better," said Elena approvingly.

The meeting went on like usual. Luminous laid out his plan, which was approved and to be put into action the next week.

Meanwhile, Aria sent for an envoy from the Black Mage, hoping to negotiate for peace before anyone else was killed.

Phantom kissed Aria one last time before she went out to meet the envoy with her guards and Shinsoo, her great white magical bird who protected Ereve.

To her dismay, Suu was at the head of the envoy.

She smiled politely. "Suu, how nice to see you. Fair winds?"

Suu's eyes narrowed. "Shut the hell up, bitch."

Aria's smile never dropped. It didn't even look forced. "Let us go inside. Come."

"No," hissed Suu, before a knife hit the guard behind her. Aria's eyes widened. She screamed. Phantom came running outside quicker than light, just in time to see Suu launch a blade at her. It hit her square in the back, and she died.

Phantom's eyes widened with shock. Without thinking, he executed the Rose Carte Finale and killed Suu.

Phantom was still in shock over the death of his lover. Aria was a kind, sweet girl who had ruled Maple World with care and compassion. Slowly, rage began to boil inside Phantom. He would kill whoever told stupid Suu to kill Aria. His eyes saw red. Everything was tinged with red.

It was all red.

Red. Red everywhere.

On his beautiful darling Aria.

Aria, Aria!

"ARIA!" he screamed. He ran to where she lay, on Shinsoo's belly.

Shinsoo said slowly, "Phantom…ugh…you must take the Skaia…*groan*…you must protect it!" The Skaia was the gem that Phantom had heard about years ago when he was still the criminal who rode the skies. He tried to steal it and ended up falling in love with Aria, the holder.

Aria…Aria…everything just went back to her.

Rain started to fall on him.

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter.

The sky darkened to match his mood.

He would protect Maple World, like she'd asked him to. He would go to the Temple of Time and defeat the Black Mage. He had to continue her legacy, for it was a respectable legacy and he would not let ANYONE bury her dreams.

Not even that fucking Suu.

The other heroes came running. "What's happened, Phantom—"

They stopped dead in their tracks. There was their lecherous Empress, who had been a sweet and kind girl to everyone, lying dead on Shinsoo's belly. _She cannot be dead, she cannot be dead, she cannot be dead…_ All of them repeated that line again and again in their heads. It was just unbelievable.

Phantom stood there, tears in his eyes as he shook with grief. _Aria…I love you._ He placed a final kiss on her lips before he teleported back to the Crystal Garden.

"Oh, poor Phantom," murmured Mercedes. "Good-bye, my empress. You were wonderful at what you did, and I will always remember you for that."

"Good-bye, Aria," chorused the heroes. They took the body and buried it right there where she'd died, and put a gravestone over it. Luminous magically carved the epitaph on the stone. They all bowed their heads and left, each to mourn their own way.

Luminous held a shaking Aran who was sobbing with grief.

Mercedes and Freud just stared at each other. Neither was able to say anything.

And Phantom…

Phantom stayed on the Crystal Garden for eight days, reflecting on his relationship with Aria and Suu. When time came, determination filled his eyes and he went to meet the other heroes, who were preparing to attack the Temple of Time.

"Let's do this," he said simply. And they charged.

* * *

Aran stayed behind to fend off the Corrupted Memory Guardians.

Mercedes and Freud went on the offensive and directly attacked the Black Mage. Upon entering the room where the Black Mage was, they were surprised to see the knocked-out Black Mage Commander Demon there. _He must have turned on his master_, Freud realized.

They attacked the Black Mage together. Mercedes got knocked out and Freud was very badly injured.

Phantom stayed behind with Aran to fend off the guardians.

And Luminous…he gave Aran one last kiss, left her in the corridor, and went after the Black Mage. He sealed the Black Mage, but not before getting injected with a shitload of Dark magic.

The magic of the Temple of Time threw all five of them out into Leafre after the job was done. Leafre was in flames. An unknown explorer helped revive Mercedes, get Afrien's dragon egg to a safe place since Freud was dying, and help Maha, the spirit of Aran's pole arm, revive Aran. Of course, then all five of them got encased in ice, so it didn't matter.

A FEW CENTURIES LATER…

Phantom woke up on the Crystal Garden. He noticed something…different about the air. It was much more polluted. He immediately got off the ship to check the time. How long had he been sleeping?! It was time to do research. He hired a manservant, four maids, a captain, a storage keeper, a weapons seller and a potion seller. He also hired an intelligence analyst and an intelligence collector.

Luminous woke up at the same time Phantom did. He found himself in the forest near Ellinia, within the vicinity of the house of a young girl and her cat. He lived with her for a couple years, before he put her in a near-death because the Dark Magic in him got out of control. He regretted it very much after he snapped out of the dark trance.

A few years after Luminous awoke, Aran was discovered by Lillin in a cave in Rien. She had no memories left. The time in the ice had not been good to Aran. Aran began to train up and try to recover her lost memories.

A boy named Evan had been born twelve years before Phantom woke up. Around the time Aran had been discovered by Lillin, he found a mysterious dragon egg. Evan went into Henesys and helped the people there. He trained his dragon this way.

Mercedes woke up a few months after Evan had gotten his dragon. She went into Ellinia, which was close to her Elven kingdom of Elluel, and received typical Japanese-style culture shock. To find out she was part of an "ancient" race and was a few centuries into the future boggled her mind. She was sick to the stomach all day.

Around this time, Phantom had done his research on the current Maple World. He jumped the gun by making a spectacular entrance during Hilla's, one of Suu's colleagues, infiltration. She'd tried to claim that she was the real empress, not Cygnus, Aria's niece. And yes, I don't know how that works either. Aria killed hundreds of years ago, but Cygnus is Aria's niece but Cygnus is a young girl? Mind-boggling. Whatever. Anyway, Phantom succeeded in uncovering Hilla's malicious plot and driving her away.

All five heroes had their fair share in encounters with the Black Wings. They were all asked to join the Alliance of Maple World, to which they all said yes.

And now a flashback to when Mercedes realized Freud was dead.

* * *

"Freud! Freud!" she screamed. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Afrien watched her sadly. He too, was devastated by the death of his other half.

"No, Afrien! He can't be dead! He can't be!" she sobbed.

She now knew how Phantom felt when Aria died. "Freud cannot be dead. He cannot be! No, no, no!"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "If the fucking Black Mage ever arises again, I swear I will cut him into such tiny pieces that even ants cannot see them!" she wailed, her grief-stricken voice piercing the air.

To Afrien, she said, "I must return to Elluel to seal my kingdom now. Best wishes."

"Good luck, Mercedes," he replied.

She sealed her kingdom and went into a deep, deep sleep. Forcefully induced by the Black Mage, of course.

End flashback.

* * *

Mercedes faced the Black Mage, a grim smile twisting her lips.

Phantom glared, determination and hatred etched into every line of his body.

Evan just stared in wonder, but his senses were sharp and his weapons were at the ready.

Aran felt anger pierce her heart.

Luminous looked at his creator sadly, feeling bad about the patricide he was to commit.

Together, they charged.

But this time, they weren't alone.

The Explorers and the Cygnus Knights, the Resistance, the Nova and the Sengoku, Kaiser, Angelic Buster, Hayato and Kanna, and the child of Rhinne all fought behind them. They were an Alliance now, and nothing would stop them from defeating the Black Mage once and for all. They would rectify all their past mistakes, forgive the Black Mage for his crimes, and turn the world into a newer, brighter place.

Of course their happily ever after came after many, many, many more trials and tribulations. Because really, they're heroes, and there will always be people who want supreme power.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, I abuse line breaks in this story. xD**

**Suu=Lotus for the GMS players.**


End file.
